Need help buying a UPS.

D

deeplove

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 19, 2006
Messages
276
Hey guys. I honestly don't know what I need or how to figure out what ups is best for me. I'm about to start working from home but need one. Hopefully I have enough info for you guys. I'm basically going to need it for my PC, monitor and modem. I have a BenQ GW2750 monitor. The modem is a arris TM 722.

PC is
3570k
1ssd
1hdd
HD6850
hx750

From what I gathered on the ratings, here are the numbers.

Modem 115-240vac 0.5A
Monitor 100-240v 1.50A
hx750 100-240v 10A

I'm sure I don't max the PSU out when doing light work on the PC. I know when the PSU is in load the fan goes off but I haven't seen the fan go off once other than when the PC is powered on. Sorry if I'm not giving enough details.
 
Those amperage ratings to me do no look right.

If you take the Voltage range and apply it to the amperage ratings you listed, here is how it goes:

Modem 115V @ 0.5A = 57.5W - 240V @ 0.5A = 120W
Monitor 100V @ 1.5A = 150W - 240V @ 1.5A = 360W
hx750 100V @ 10A = 1000W - 240V @ 10A = 2400W

There is no way any of those are going to pull that much power, ever.

How long do you want your system to be able to stay up?
 
To be honest, I'd hate to be on the line with a customer and tell them I'd have to hurry the call up because my power went out. I'd like to finish the call. Don't know how realistic that sounds. If it could last a few minutes that would be great.

As for the ratings, the numbers I posted are what's printed on the labels on the items. I just wrote them down exactly how it's on there.
 
This should be able to keep your system up for probably at least 20-30 minutes as long as you are not playing games or otherwise loading the system up a lot while on calls.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16842102134

You could possibly drop down to a slightly lower model, but you want to make sure it has Pure Sine Wave capability so it works properly with your power supply.

And at only $200, it doesn't make much sense to drop down to a 1350 or whatever for the small price difference.

According to Arris, the modem pulls 7.4 to 10.8w:
http://www.arrisi.com/support/documentation/user_guides/_docs/TTM_TM722_TM722_User_Guide_Std2-1.pdf

The monitor pulls 30w according to BenQ:
http://www.benq.us/product/monitor/gw2750hm/specifications/

At close to idle, I am guessing your computer itself will pull in 100w or less.
 
How good is CyperPower compared to APC? I know where I worked at only used the APC UPS.

And sorry to ask, but what exactly is the Pure Sine Wave capability good for?
 
CyberPower is a big player much like APC, their customer service is good.

Active PFC power supplies is what Pure Sine Wave compatibility is for.
 
deeplove said:
How good is CyperPower compared to APC? I know where I worked at only used the APC UPS.

And sorry to ask, but what exactly is the Pure Sine Wave capability good for?
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I have an APC and a CyberPower UPS in my little server room at work.

The APC has died once, and the first replacement they sent me was faulty. I am not even sure how they passed it in their tests.

The CyberPower has not given me any problems, and was a whole lot less expensive.

We also have a bunch of smaller CyberPower UPS units in our lab which have not given us any problems.
 
Stick to Eaton Powerware or APC SmartUPS or Emerson/Liebert. Other people on this site like Cyberpower too much. They are Belkin-level. Won't burn your house down, but transformerless UPS have several disadvantages, and no, you're not likely to get 20 minutes out of the linked unit. A great UPS is just not that much more money than these low-end Cyberpowers. I'd mention Cyberpower somewhat positively IF they were a good amount cheaper, but they're not.

Check out www.refurbups.com. Get the IBM/APC SmartUPS 1000VA, or the APC 750VA. They had a Dell/Eaton 1000W (not VA) UPS not too long ago that was really good, but you missed that. I would easily take a SmartUPS 750VA over a CyberPower 1500VA (if my equipment fit within that power envelope).
 
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dandragonrage said:
Stick to Eaton Powerware or APC SmartUPS or Emerson/Liebert. Other people on this site like Cyberpower too much. They are Belkin-level. Won't burn your house down, but transformerless UPS have several disadvantages, and no, you're not likely to get 20 minutes out of the linked unit. A great UPS is just not that much more money than these low-end Cyberpowers. I'd mention Cyberpower somewhat positively IF they were a good amount cheaper, but they're not.

Check out www.refurbups.com. Get the IBM/APC SmartUPS 1000VA, or the APC 750VA. They had a Dell/Eaton 1000W (not VA) UPS not too long ago that was really good, but you missed that. I would easily take a SmartUPS 750VA over a CyberPower 1500VA (if my equipment fit within that power envelope).
Click to expand...

Hrmm, did you even look at the OPs specs and what he is going to be doing when he needs the power to stay up in case of power loss? 20-30 minutes seems quite reasonable, and maybe a bit on the low side.

Actually, just looking at the run-time they posted about the unit I linked to, and the wattage that the OPs computer would be pulling, run time should be pretty close or maybe a bit more than what I stated before.

It is a 900w unit, and stated run time is:
Battery Run Time
Half Load: 11min
Full Load: 2min

So, at 450w, it should run for about 11 minutes. Half that to 225, and you get 22 minutes.

And the OPs system near idle, including monitor and modem would maybe pull 160-180, if that much.

OP also needs a UPS that will work properly with his power supply. Are any of APCs UPS units beside the Smart UPS line pure sine wave?

Both the APC and the CyberPower UPS we have in our server room are right at about the same wattage, have multiple servers, a few switches, and a few other small things on them and they both hold the power up for about 15-20 minutes.

Right now the CyberPower shows it has about 850w being pulled from it and says that the uptime would be 14.7 minutes. I've been here when the power has gone out, and can say that that time is pretty spot on. It is a 3000VA/2400W unit.

I also look at the wattage ratings, and not just the VA ratings.

I am also surprised that you even mentioned Belkin in the same sentence. Belkin is total crap.
 
cyclone3d said:
Hrmm, did you even look at the OPs specs and what he is going to be doing when he needs the power to stay up in case of power loss? 20-30 minutes seems quite reasonable, and maybe a bit on the low side.
Click to expand...

Never seen one of those tiny transformerless UPS deliver decent uptime, but I suppose it's not 100% impossible.

cyclone3d said:
OP also needs a UPS that will work properly with his power supply. Are any of APCs UPS units beside the Smart UPS line pure sine wave?
Click to expand...

I don't know. I literally never, ever recommend BackUPS. The only way I'd ever do so is if you couldn't get good UPS units for similar prices. I only recommend transformer-based UPS, regardless of use.

cyclone3d said:
I am also surprised that you even mentioned Belkin in the same sentence. Belkin is total crap.
Click to expand...
I'm more surprised that you guys talk about Cyberpower like it's good, to the point that most of you won't even mention other brands anymore. Why are you guys even willing to try them when you could just go get a good UPS from RefurbUPS or even Ebay? It's the equivalent of going out and buying a brand new Toyota Yaris, when you could have gone for a car a few years old with low miles that isn't a POS.
 
dandragonrage said:
Never seen one of those tiny transformerless UPS deliver decent uptime, but I suppose it's not 100% impossible.



I don't know. I literally never, ever recommend BackUPS. The only way I'd ever do so is if you couldn't get good UPS units for similar prices. I only recommend transformer-based UPS, regardless of use.


I'm more surprised that you guys talk about Cyberpower like it's good, to the point that most of you won't even mention other brands anymore. Why are you guys even willing to try them when you could just go get a good UPS from RefurbUPS or even Ebay? It's the equivalent of going out and buying a brand new Toyota Yaris, when you could have gone for a car a few years old with low miles that isn't a POS.
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For one, I have only a few vendors I am allowed to buy from where I work, so I have to buy new.

My current boss has also had APC UPS units catch on fire after replacing the batteries, so he just likes replacing them with new units instead of refurb ones or just replacing batteries.

I have had good experiences with CyberPower, and less so with APC, so that is why I like CyberPower.

If one dies and takes out equipment or if I have one die under warranty and they don't give me good warranty support, I will change my stance.
 
I recall when I was looking for a UPS, jonny guru chimed in saying that you must have a unit with AVR (automatic voltage regulation), he also said CyberPower was very good and more than adequate for most pc users.

If the guru says CyberPower is okay, I trust him.
 
I got a CyberPower Sinewave model. For the price it was hard to beat and has performed well over the last year. The software could be nicer, but seems to work fine.

Most if not all the APC home consumer models are not sinewave and the professional models are quite expensive. A lot of people also recommend APC refurbished professional models (w/new batteries) which can be an good option. You can end up with a high end UPS for a reasonable price.

http://www.amazon.com/CyberPower-CP...380959521&sr=8-2&keywords=cyberpower+ups+pure
 
As an Amazon Associate, HardForum may earn from qualifying purchases.
A lot of people also recommend APC refurbished professional models (w/new batteries) which can be an good option. You can end up with a high end UPS for a reasonable price.
Click to expand...

I am in this camp. For less than $200 you can get a server grade UPS with 2 times the battery capacity of most consumer models. Although there are definitely other brands to look for refirbrished.
 
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